[earlye]

I made this guy last year. He's a parasaurolophus.

When I put him out this year, the rain quickly caused some "issues."

So we pulled him down, gave him a museum-style stand, and re-painted him.

I also made this guy, a pteranodon, last year:

The hooks are still on the dormer to put him back up, but after building a 20ft tall, 40ft long, fire-breathing dragon this year, I'm a bit tuckered out, so he's going to hang from the garage header beam instead (this is a very old photo, before he was fully painted):

 

[matrixmom]

Wow. You have some serious "skillz" there. Its well done and creepy!

 

[bmgamble]

That looks amazing! A lot of work and detail definitely went into them!

 

[earlye]

Thanks! One really cool part about it all is that the budget was fairly small - 1 sheet of pressure-treated plywood per beast.

 

[Screaming Demons]

Those are great. A couple of people on here built similar props - they called them a Chinese puzzle or something like that. Bet they wished they could have picked your brain for advice.

 

[earlye]

There's not a lot of brain picking to do.

Basically, the steps are this:

1) Buy the model you want to enlarge. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Wooden...=UTF8&coliid=IT6BQBV835ZTX&colid=7I5YTSWD1YXV

2) Scan the board into your computer

3) Using something like Inkscape, trace the pieces.

4) Without resizing the pieces, rotate and move them until they are as tight as possible and seem to fit in a 4:8 rectangle.

5) Using a computer projector, project the arranged pieces onto a sheet of plywood, and trace them.

6) Cut with a jigsaw

7) paint

8) assemble

Step 6 is by far the lengthiest one.

 

[imindless]

Those are pretty cool. So you say you built a 20ft high and 40 foot in length fire breathing dragon?? That's intense. You have any pictures of it? I would love to see.

 

[earlye]

http://www.halloweenforum.com/hallo...ong-including-tail-fire-breathing-dragon.html

https://picasaweb.google.com/103047693135485372448/Halloween2011TharBeDRAGONS

I've got some high-quality photos of the finished product, but am waiting until after our party to post them anywhere.

 

[halloween71]

I bet the kids love those!!!Very cool!

 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Was checking out your gallery the Dinos and dragon are both really cool pieces.

I started a commission for a big dragon awhile back but never got it finished...but I do have quite a few Dinos of my own :

Pteranodons :

Juvenile Parasaurolophus :

Deinonychus aka Jurassic Park 3 Raptor :

Juvenile Spinosaurus :

 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Juvenile Brachiosaurus :

Sub-adult Styracosaurus :

..and I'm currently working on a juvenile tyrannosaur.

 

[Screaming Demons]

Nice work, Blade! How about a tutorial? I can see one under construction in the photo with the pirate ship. I think the info would help in building a variety of props, not necessarily dinosaurs.

 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Well I suppose I could..I have never done one ..lol Another issue is the material I use isn't easy to get...so it would be of limited use I guess. I can tell easily how it's done if anyone wants to know though.

I do have a good friend of mine that builds Dino another way, I just can't do it because it involves a lot of foam...and the sound foam makes..SCCCREEECHHH!!!! . Something that hits that one nerve in your body you know ? lol

Here is his page and it has a how-to as well : http://www.dinosaursfoamfibergl.com/

 

[Screaming Demons]

I think what would be useful is how you figure out proportions when starting one, and then how you go about framing something up. There are a variety of more common materials used by haunters, including monster mud, that could be used for skin.

Or how about some close-ups of one under construction? That would be a big help.

 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Cool, let's take the juvenile Spinosaurus .

For him I first figure up proportions by finding a reputable skeletal diagram like this one :

Since this is a juvenile and are there are no materials for it in the fossil record so far I have to guess a bit based on other finds of juvenile dinosaurs. I figure out how big the skull will be then adjust measurements throughout the body based on it. Now I have a working plan :

For this one I made a stencil to follow :

It was done free hand, but a better way is to use a projector with you diagram traced onto a clear sheet..then put it up on a drop cloth behind the sculpture.

I create the basic frame from wood ( 2x4 ) PVC which is heated with a heat gun to bend and follow the stencil. The tail is an old metal curtain rod :

I made the head , sail and arms from foam board coated with Great Stuff expanding foam.

I made the first head which was the wrong size and had to do a 2nd :

At this point I've made the muscle frame out of steel fencing wire, available from Lowe's, Home Depot or Tractor Supply.

I have been working on the head inside at night and when it rained to maximize my time on it and started coating with the fiberglass/vinyl material . This was surplus my grandfather picked up ages ago from Semens Corp in Bristol, TN. I've been attempting to get more but no luck so far.

It's hard to see but the steel fencing is covered in chicken wire to remove the pattern of straight lines the steel fencing would cause. Looks more like skin with bumps and scales when coated.

Eyes and teeth are made from Super Sculpey from Walmart. Coating the body continues..

 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I start to detail with spines, a dewlap, and plates all made from the vinyl coated fiberglass and attach with a heat gun.

I added bumps to the hide here by spraying a dot of foam onto the vinyl and then coating over it. I drew in some lines and such with a soldering tool..taken carefully over it so as not to burn thorough the material.

This was in August and I had to quite for haunt work. Fast forward to this year a few months ago :

I started painting using different spray paints, Krylon and such from Walmart..teeth and eyes were painted with craft paint and sealed with a clear spray.

Then he was finished and installed :

Also made a half eaten fish for him to show what his species mainly ate :

You can find more pics in my FB albums here : http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2922912428431.217230.1129456954&type=3

 

[ThrillsEntertainment]

These are so cool, both the skeletons and Blade's realistic ones. I may just have to use some of these ideas for a project of my own.

 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Thanks ! I'd love to see any other Dinosaurs if some other members have done any.

 

[Screaming Demons]

Thanks much! That it some talent. I get the strangest looks when I tell people that haunting is my hobby. I can only imagine what people think when you tell them about yours.

 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Thanks much! That it some talent. I get the strangest looks when I tell people that haunting is my hobby. I can only imagine what people think when you tell them about yours.

Well I haunt as well..lol I think people who know me are getting used to my antics..;D I had three cars come by today and just drive back and forth and look. I need a sign so people will know they can come and walk around and have a better look.